Summer photography offers many opportunities to learn and practice techniques. In this session, photographer Layne Kennedy takes the viewer with him to the Minnesota State Fair, where he lightens his load and takes photos of the crowd, close-ups of people eating corn on the cob, and other images highlighting the Great American Get-Together.

For the summer session of this seasonal photography course, veteran photographer Layne Kennedy takes aim at the Minnesota State Fair, sharing both the joys and challenges of photographing the Great Minnesota Get-Together.

Go Light for Easier Shooting

In a cramped, busy setting like a state fair, Layne recommends carrying a smaller camera bag and minimal equipment. In addition to navigating the crowds, warm temperatures in late summer can make lugging heavy equipment difficult and tiring. Lightening the load will give you more energy, greater reaction times, and more ability to take creative shots in what can be hectic settings.

In this session, Layne carries one camera body, a wide-angle lens, a telephoto lens, and a Lens Baby, which provides selective focus and certain special effects, with two lenses and a Lens Baby. He also has his iPhone to utilize the many apps he can use for creative photo manipulation. Now and then, a fun shot can add to the visual appeal of the photos.

Myriad Photo Ops at the Fair

At a multi-faceted event such as a state fair, or even a large county fair, you’ll have ample opportunities to work on your summer photography techniques while photographing crowds, zooming in on happy faces, capturing activities and, of course, highlighting all the food that lures so many fairgoers to favorite booths. And while summer photography can provide great photo ops all season long, when you’re shooting at events you’ll have to work with the day’s weather conditions rather than wait for the perfect day.

The summer topics in this session cover a variety of techniques for shooting crowds, taking close-up shots of activity, and going from the outdoors to the challenge of shooting indoors in exhibit halls.

You’ve seen the beautiful landscape photographs that capture bright sunlight and dark shadows. You’ve heard about the method, HDR: High Dynamic Range Photography. You want to learn more. In this HDR tutorial series, your instructor, author and educator, Tony Sweet, guides you through the entire process, from capturing the on-sight images to HDR processing at

How do you process an HDR image that includes extremes of light in an old prison? In this how-to editing video, post-production instructor Tony Sweet takes you through the procedure. He sandwiches the eight exposures into one HDR photograph, moves it into Photomatix. Using the tools, he pushes the contrast way up, then dials up

How do you go about processing the tower window, given the difficult lighting? In this video, post-production instructor, Tony Sweet, explains, “This is the classic, high dynamic range situation.” The tower window glows with bright, diffused light, while the cell block falls to deep shadows. You will learn Photomatix software and how Tony goes about

When you’re going out in the spring to capture images of beautiful buds and blooms, it’s important to be prepared. In this session, you’ll learn how to plan ahead for the right blooms, and what gear you need to pack for the conditions you’ll face.